Like Father, Like Son
by AstonishedOwl
Summary: [Sora, never go back on a promise...you will never know how much it hurts a person if you break it.] PreKH drabble, really sad, kinda bittersweet.


**A/N** Well, I just had to write this, because I've been itching to write a preKH drabble for a while. So here it is! Oh, and by the way? I did this with a different history from another of my stories, I'm Home, so here, Sora's dad is a Royal Keyblade Knight, (some of you may recognize the term from Numina-Namine's stories) so I imagined that Sora's dad was also a Keyblade Bearer, just because.

Enjoy!

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**Like Father, Like Son**

_Summary: "Sora, never go back on a promise...you will never know how much it hurts a person if you break it." PreKH, sad and bittersweet._

O – O – O – O – O – O – O – O – O – O – O – O – O

The setting sun glinted off a silver crown pendant as it's wearer listened to his son narrate his day at school.

"And, and then, for show and tell, I told everyone that you were a, a Woy—a Royal Keyblade Knight!"

"Oh, I'm blushing, Sora." The father made a dramatic hand wave, grinning as his son rocked back and forth in laughter, almost falling off the dock they were sitting on.

"And guess what Riku brought!"

The man shook his head, his spiky black hair drooping into his eyes.

"Come on, Dad! Try!"

"Hmmm . . . . .a _flower_?"

"Close! He brought in a lizard! And he found it at the bus stop!"

"Oh, my. Did he scare the girls?"

"Yeah, he did!"

"But…"

The boy's face fell, and a frown worked his way onto his face as he thought about what he wanted to say. "Then he gave the lizard to another guy to look at, but he started chasing Selphie and Kairi around with it. And they got really scared . . . and he got Kairi in a corner. . ."

When the boy didn't continue, his father prompted him, "What happened then?"

"Well….I got really angry. Because he's the bully! He even took my snack the other day!"

"He must not be a very nice kid, then."

"No, he isn't. But. . . . .hey, Dad? Will you promise not to get mad?"

". . .Of course, Sora."

"Okay. . .well. . .I kinda. . .tackled him after that. . .and the teacher got mad. . .but he was scaring Kairi!"

The man was silent for a few moments, as the boy sneaked glances at him to see what he was thinking.

"Let me ask you something, Sora. You know it's not nice to hurt others, right?"

"…Yeah….."

"But, you also know that it is even worse to stand by and watch others get hurt?"

The boy looked up at his father, startled. The man had a small smile on his face.

"Sora, remember this. If you see someone in trouble, try to help them. And if you see someone hurting others, stop them, or else they'll try to do it again, and again, and cause even more pain."

He looked at his small child, and picked up the tiny hand, putting it over the boy's chest.

"Remember, if you aren't sure about what to do, listen to your heart. So many people aren't able to hear that tiny voice deep inside, that tells them what is right and what is wrong. So, Sora, follow your heart. Listen to what your heart is telling you to do, and you'll make the right choices."

The boy looked up at his father, young sapphire eyes meeting wise navy, and nodded. The father smiled, and bent down to hug his son.

"And remember, no matter how far away I am, I'm always with you."

O – O – O – O – O – O – O – O – O – O – O – O – O

A small boy peered around the wall, confused as to why his parents were taking such a long time to hug. Snatches of conversation drifted across the room as the two, unaware of their son watching them, comforted each other.

"Don't worry, Rosa. The King said it's just a scouting mission, no more than a month. The time will fly by, okay?"

The woman shook her head fiercely, her face buried in her husband's chest as she struggled to hide her tears. Her muffled voice trembled as she tried to bring herself under control.

"Please, just turn down the mission. Sora's just gotten used to having you back home, he won't underst—"

"I know, sweetheart. But I'm the captain of the squad, they won't be able to go without me—"

"I don't care! _Please_, don't go! Your son is growing up without you, he is _lonely_, he's hiding it and I just don't know what will happen—"

"Rosa, don't you think I regret that every day?" He interrupted, and she pulled away, swiping at her eyes. His voice became gentler.

"Don't worry. I'm gonna come back, okay?" He pulled her close, planting a gentle kiss on her forehead.

"I promise."

O – O – O – O – O – O – O – O – O – O – O – O – O

The small boy sat on the edge of his bed, forehead furrowed in deep thought. His feet kicked against the boards of his bed, which his entire family had carved out and decorated not even two summers ago, as he contemplated the matter at hand.

A stranger in a black suit had come up to their house, and as Sora watched, had talked to his mother for a moment before she had sagged forward into the man's arms. Getting up, he peered into the room where his mother was still laying on the couch, where she had placed, staring up to the ceiling and not moving.

Sora abruptly decided that his mother must be tired and needed a coff…a coof—a coofie? Ah! A cookie! Trotting over to the kitchen, he reached up into the forbidden jar on the counter and pulled out the treasure inside.

Gazing at the cookie, he decided that it looked lonely and needed a friend.

Coming back into the living room with a tray of cookies, overfilled glasses of milk, and an intensely proud smile on his face, he walked over to the couch. Setting down the tray and immediately stuffing a cookie into his mouth, he offered one to his mother, who was finally sitting up. Taking it wordlessly, she looked at her only son, and slowly enveloped him in a hug.

Not understanding his mother's mood, Sora nevertheless hugged her tightly back.

"Mommy? Is….is something wrong?"

She wouldn't respond, but loosened her grip, bending down until she was eye level with the child.

"Sora, there's something you need to know." He nodded his head so vigorously that his spikes flipped back and forth on his head.

"Sora….your daddy…your daddy is—"

She gulped, unable to continue, until a small voice asked, "Mommy?"

She looked up, into the deep blue eyes of her son, noticing with a shock, that she had never really realized how familiar that hue was…

Smiling weakly as she blinked back tears, she took the boy and placed him on her knee.

"Sora, I want you to know. . .that your daddy is always proud of you. And he will always be with you, because he loves you, very, very much."

Reaching out a trembling hand to the somber, small, black box that the man had delivered, she opened the lid to reveal a terribly familiar silver crown pendant. Picking it up, she fiercely scrubbed at the red stains that covered it until it shone brightly, like it always had.

Then she turned to her son, and carefully placed the necklace over his head, so that it hung, a little too large, on his neck.

"Now, Sora, I need you to be a big boy. Can you do it?" The child puffed out his small chest, with a hearty _Yes!_ in reply.

"I want you to remember this. When you make a promise, keep it. It doesn't matter how big, or how small, it is. If you promise to do something, don't go back on your word."

She hastily reached for a handkerchief and buried her face in it.

"You will have no idea how much it hurts the person if you break it."

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A lone figure quietly walked down the wooden length of the dock, reaching the end and sitting down, lost in memories. He was silent for a few minutes, until he quietly started speaking.

"Hey, Dad. Sorry for not visiting for so long, but I've been really busy."

A sad chuckle, and he continued.

"I was so happy when the whole adventure started, you know? I felt like I was following in your footsteps. . . I was really proud of it."

Rubbing a hand across the back of his neck, he tilted his head back and watched as the blue sky was replaced by a deep orange sunset.

"But. . . I was really kinda lonely throughout all of it. Everyone was such a long way away, and I had no idea what was going to happen to me, I didn't know what happened to the Islands, I didn't know where Riku and Kairi were, I didn't know if Mom was alive after the Islands were destroyed. . . . . I kinda feel embarrassed now, but I was scared."

Looking forward again, he watched the sun sink lower to the horizon, the water reflecting the light in dazzling sparkles.

"But all throughout it, whenever I got scared or lonely, I just had to remember you. I would try to think of what you would do in the situation, and that got me through it."

He was silent for several minutes, watching the water lap at the posts.

"But I still felt terrible for not being able to visit you this day each year, so I'm glad to be back home."

Standing up to leave, Sora looked up at the sky, blinking rapidly.

"I still miss you, Dad. But. . . if you can just. . . . just watch over me, make sure I don't anything stupid, don't hurt anyone . . . .then I guess I'll be alright."

And as the sun dropped into the sea, he turned around and began the long walk home.

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**A/N**

So tragic….but I've been wanting to write something like this. Just the idea that Sora's father, who would have helped show Sora the hero he could be, and who Sora looked up to, were to die and leave Sora without a father figure, it seemed kinda fitting. And I thought it would be sweet if the pendant he always wore were to be his father's as well, and that the bittersweet line at the end of the first game had an even sadder past….it just kinda all tied up together in my mind, and I hope I was able to convey it in a semi-understandable way!

EDIT: Well, I hope you all don't mind, but I came back to this and edited some of the parts that were bothering me, especially how packed the entire thing was. I like it better now, because the lines are more spaced out and (in my opinion) easier on the eyes to read.

And I have to thank you all, too, because this story and I'm Home are tied for the most faves for all of my stories! Oh, you people like this sad and mushy stuff, don't you? (This author secretly can't live without it.)


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